An amature woodworker who works as a data analytics consultant

Raised Planter Part 2

The days are getting shorter so the after work progress has slowed dramatically (Monday night I was working by the light of my iPhone’s flashlight) but progress is being made. They base tier of the raised planter has been installed and I have started to lay the second.

A base of gravel was laid down and then the timbers were pounded until level and at the same height. Then 3 foot long re-bar was pounded into the sand to try and hold things in place. Cutting the timber takes 8 cuts with my circular saw (one shallow cut on each side with the speed square and then 1 deep cut on each side free hand) followed by hand sawing to finish the cut. That is my root saw in the picture so don’t worry about the rust as its getting recycled after this project.

I am using 8 inch timber screws to hold the tiers together. Pre-drilling involved using a 1/2″ auger bit in a brace to create a countersink and I then used a corded power drill with a 12″ long 1/4″ bit to drill a hole for the screw shaft. Once the timber was in position I bounded the screws through the holes until they made contact with the lower timber and then cranked them home with a hex driver in my brace (I tried using an impact driver and it was slower and nosier).

Unfortunately, It appears I delved to deep when I created the base tier. I had designed the base timbers to be in line with the base of the wall however, after using some lasers to measure the height differences is appears the top of the base for the upper wall is 3 or 4 inches lower than the top of lower wall. Once you add in additional dirt height at the back of the yard for drainage slope my second tier will end up being mostly under ground so I either need to buy another tiers worth of timbers or come up with another solution.